The Mouth of Mount Saint Helens
The Mouth of Mount Saint Helens is a radio station operated, as its name suggests, on the slopes of Mount Saint Helens by a lone wingnut named Heinrich. For the last half a century, the station has been a fount of bigotry in wasteland, with Heinrich pouring his extremist views into every broadcast. Opinion on the radio station is remarkably mixed. The station also provides music and news for the people of the wasteland besides Heinrich’s propaganda, and it is run independently of any group. History Heinrich is the origin of the Mouth of Mount Saint Helens, its only producer of content, and the man that has kept the radio station alive for the last forty years or so. He is the one man whose determination has kept the radio station alive for so long. The radio station was a pre-War facility abandoned in the wake of the Great War. The radio station had a single resident, a Park Ranger, for a short time after the bombs fell, but he was quickly killed by a treacherous survivor. The radio station stood empty for more one hundred fifty years, with the local tribals developing a deep-seeded fear of the building due to its pre-War origins, until the arrival of Heinrich in 2248. The arrival of Heinrich changed the area irrecoverably. He took up residence in the radio station on the slopes of the mountain and later displaced the local tribals. After getting comfortable in his new home, Heinrich began exploring the area as well as experimenting with the radio equipment in the station. The Mouth of Mount Saint Helens began in an unofficial fashion in the year 2248 with Heinrich fiddling around with his equipment, contacting other people with radio equipment, and going on the occasional rant. The radio station really came into its own a year later in 2249. That year, Heinrich read a lot of literature from the radio station’s pre-War library and emerged with many new ideas to talk about. Heinrich spent much of 2249 narrating his current fight for survival, his readings of various books in the radio station's small library, and telling exaggerated stories about his own past. These stories mostly consisted of his accounts of his heroic New Order service, but some of them were also unintentionally embarrassing, gaining Heinrich many ironic listeners. In 2250, Heinrich began to have longer talkback segments to talk to a new acquaintance, Marcos, and other callers who were often more hostile. Weirdo Hour evolved out of Heinrich’s radio conversations with Marcos and continued to encompass anyone else calling in. Over time, Heinrich also spotted time for reporting on current events and voicing his opinions on specific things such as women and music. The 2260s witnessed a dramatic rise in popularity for The Mouth of Mount Saint Helens, as Heinrich served as a somewhat neutral observer to the Oregon Brushfire Wars. Personal attacks on Heinrich and the radio station increased in concert, and Heinrich was put on the defensive for nearly a decade. Regardless of the danger to his life though, Heinrich continued broadcasting to the wasteland. After surviving the 2260s, Heinrich has led a relatively peaceful existence ever since with the exception of the occasional bounty hunter. He continues to broadcast content on The Mouth of Mount Saint Helens and continues to draw in large numbers of listeners. His vitriol and hatred have not decreased over the years, and Heinrich endeavors to hate far into the future. The Mouth of Mount Saint Helens may not be the most professional radio station in Cascadia, but it is undeniably popular. The radio’s fanbase is divided between a large group who listen for the purpose of entertainment and a smaller group who take Heinrich very seriously. Another odd feature of the radio’s fanbase is that a surprisingly large number of Heinrich’s listeners are women, many from either The Kingdom of God or Seattle. The reason for the radio’s popularity among women is unknown. The Mouth of Mount Saint Helens does not reach NCR and Heinrich is an obscure figure to citizens of the Republic, only known to some traders or explorers as another dangerous element of the wasteland. Programming Music The Mouth of Mount Saint Helens has a rather narrow catalog of music as Heinrich is very particular on what type of music he wants to play. Out of the radio station’s pre-War collection, Heinrich only found some of the music “appropriate” to play. The station biases heavily towards traditionally “Anglo-Saxon” genres such Classical, Country, and some examples of Rock. This leads a somewhat disjointed but interesting lineup, with Classical and Country being played on weekdays and Classical and Rock being played on weekends. Wagner is predictably a favorite of the station. News Heinrich covers the news of the day in The Daily Nachricht, where he covers recent events around Cascadia. He gets news either from listening to many separate radio stations or people who call in during Weirdo Hour. Heinrich’s actual reporting of events, like the rise of the FNA and the various Oregon Brushfire Wars, is surprisingly accurate divorced from his personal views. At the very least, Heinrich actually makes sure to separate his personal opinions, vile as they may be, from his reporting on events. This has led to Heinrich gaining many listeners over the years who just listen in for his reporting on events. Heinrich usually saves personal anecdotes and quips for the very end of The Daily Nachricht. The Daily Nachricht usually goes on later in the day, but since Heinrich’s schedule is pretty fluid, it can just happen whenever he has new information. Talkback/Weirdo Hour The Mouth of Mount Saint Helens is perhaps best known for Weirdo Hour, one hour a day designated for talkback between the broadcaster and the listeners. Anyone with a two way radio can call in to the Mouth of Mount Saint Helens. When Heinrich receives the caller, the caller is free to ask questions or discuss a topic with the host. Weirdo Hour is how Heinrich interacts with other humans on a daily basis, whether it be positive or negative interaction. Often, Weirdo Hour drags on for longer than an hour as Heinrich usually has a lot of fun with the segment. Heinrich works hard to defend his conspiracies from people who call in during Weirdo Hour. Specialty programming *''The How’s and Why’s of the Wasteland:'' A largely informal segment for the radio station, Heinrich voices his opinions on how and why the wasteland is the way it is for several hours at a time. He has been doing this segment since the beginning of his radio station. The segment consists mostly of Heinrich's ramblings with very little actual substance to what he says. It is during this segment where Heinrich voices the majority of his conspiracies including Yellow Peril, International Jewry, and Badlander Encirclement. *''Volk and Life:'' Created in 2280, this segment was meant to teach life lessons to the people of the wasteland and give them pointers on things such as scavenging and marriage. Heinrich frequently talks on the segment about topics that he has little to no experience with such as women, farming, and science. That only proves to increase his confidence when talking about the topics. *''Interviews:'' Heinrich has only had two interviews on his radio station twenty years apart from each other, so to say this segment is a rare one would be an understatement. The only people Heinrich trusts enough enough to interview are people he has complete control over; aka tied up and secure. His two guests, a Disciple and a bum, were both rather disappointing, with Heinrich eventually executing the bum for being annoying. So, Heinrich's audience knows if an interview is coming up, it's a once in a generation event. Notable Staff Heinrich Heinrich is the host of the Mouth of Mount Saint Helens, a rabid white supremacist, and the lone person broadcasting from the radio station. He had been living on Mount Saint Helens for the last forty years, and he broadcasts from his radio station almost every day. Heinrich has had a long, tiresome life as a former footsoldier of the New Order and an experienced warrior. Heinrich is hated and feared by many in Cascadia for his bigotry and willingness to commit violence. The Mouth of Mount Saint Helens and Heinrich have nonetheless persisted despite their shared infamous status, whether out of skill or dumb luck. Quotes Category:Radio Stations Category:Cascadia